


Falling in love with you

by Cats_Dont_Float



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Albino Dave Strider, Crushes, Getting Together, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Online Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 20:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19092988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: John is thirteen when he meets Dave online. Over the years, their friendship grows into something more. In the summer, they decide to meet up for the first time.





	Falling in love with you

Your name is John Egbert, and for most of your life you have barely had any friends. Then, when you are thirteen, you make a friend online. His name is Dave, and the two of you meet on some video game forum. After weeks of talking on there, you manage to convince Dave that you aren't a dangerous stranger, and you exchange phone numbers. From then on, you talk whenever you have spare time. You don't know why, but talking to Dave is easier than it's ever been to talk to anyone you know in real life.

After a few months, you've talked on video call multiple times, and yet you've never seen Dave's face. Whenever you talk to each other, Dave just points his camera up at his bedroom ceiling, and you get to stare at the weird posters that Dave has stuck there. One day, as you both sit talking about video games, you pause in the middle of a sentence.  
"What's up?" Dave asks from somewhere off camera.  
"I just realised I don't even know what you look like," You say.  
"Well, yeah," Dave says, and you can hear him typing at his computer on the other side of the room. No wonder his voice sounds so distant.  
"But you know what I look like," you continue, "How do I know you're not like... a sixty year old man?" You're just kidding, just trying to get him to agree to show you his face, but the second you say it you can't help but wonder if it's true.  
"Look," says Dave's voice, coming closer to his phone again, "If you knew what I looked like, you wouldn't want to talk to me, okay?"  
"That's ridiculous!" You declare, "I couldn't care less what you look like!"  
"Then why do you have to see?" Dave asks.  
"Because we're friends," You say, "And I like to know what my friends look like."  
You hear a long sigh from Dave's end, and then he says, "Do you promise you won't laugh? Or hang up?"  
"I promise," You say, and you mean it. There's another sigh, a deep breath, and then a hand grabs the camera. It's blurry for a second as he moves it somewhere, and you grin as you realise that you are finally about to find out what your mysterious friend looks like. As the camera moves, you spot some of Dave's shitty fake swords mounted on the wall, alongside shelves of vinyl records. Then the camera settles, and a boy moves into view awkwardly. You gasp as he comes closer and the picture focuses, and he tenses at the sound. But all you can do is stare, because standing in front of you is the most amazing person you've ever seen.  
Dave has the palest skin you've ever seen on a person, and bright white hair. He's wearing the strangest pair of sunglasses you've ever seen (they're triangular, like something out of an anime), and it makes him look even more unusual.  
You suddenly realise you've been staring for ages. "You look so cool!" You blurt out.  
Dave lets out a sigh of relief. "Really?" He asks, "Thank you." You grin at him, and he smiles back.

When Dave's birthday comes around, you send him a pair of sunglasses that you saw in a shop a few days ago. You manage to send it so that it arrives exactly on his birthday. He calls you the day after, and he's wearing them. You sit and play video games together for a while.  
"You don't have to wear the shades inside just because I bought them for you," you say.  
"I always wear shades," Dave says.  
"Why?" You ask. He doesn't reply, and a few seconds later his character shoots yours. You take that as a hint to drop the subject, and start asking him what else he got for his birthday. He grins in relief at the change of subject.

It's almost been a year since you first started talking to Dave when you realise that you might have feelings for him. You talked to your friends at school, and they'd told you about being bisexual. You think that that's what you are. You've never dated boys, but there's a few boys in your school that you think are good looking. But Dave is different. He listens to you, and makes you laugh. And you think that maybe, just maybe, you might have a bit of a crush on him.  
You date a girl called Vriska for a while, trying to distract yourself, but the two of you never work well together. You break up on good terms, and she goes on to date a girl called Terezi. You're happy for her. You just wish you could find that happiness for yourself.

You're almost sixteen when you work up the nerve to ask Dave if he wants to meet you. His face splits into a huge grin when you ask.  
"Of course," he agrees.  
"You could come here in the summer," you suggest, "If you'd be able to get a plane." He agrees to try and sort it out. A few weeks later, he buys a plane ticket, and everything is planned.

When the time comes for Dave's visit, you get worried. What if Dave isn't the same in real life? What if the two of you don't get along? You don't know why you're worried, and try to convince yourself that it will be okay. Your dad drives you to the airport when Dave's flight arrives, but you turn up late. You realise that you have a few texts from him, and rush inside, panicked. He's sat on a bench, his suitcase resting at his feet, staring at his phone. You can't help stopping and staring for a few seconds. His pale skin and white hair is shining in the sunlight streaming in through the airport windows, headphones resting over his ears, tapping his foot along to the beat of his music. You grin to yourself, and then run at him.  
When you reach him, he looks up slowly, and a smile spreads across his face as he recognises you. He jumps up, and lets you pull him into a tight hug. He's about the same height as you, but skinnier than you are, and it feels good to have him held tightly against your chest. Then he steps back from you, and you see that he's smiling just as much as you are.  
"Hey," he grins.  
"Hey," you reply. There's a few moments of uncomfortable silence, and then you pick up his bag for him, and the two of you make your way out of the airport together. He keeps the headphones on as you walk, and you later find out that he likes to listen to music in busy places to distract himself from the crowds.

For the next two weeks, Dave stays at your house, sleeping on a mattress by the side of your bed. For the first few days, you show him all around the area, showing him the best places you can find. then you take him to silly places, like your favourite place to get coffee, and your favourite park. He enjoys everything, and happily wanders along by your side as you lead him up and down the streets that you know so well. You try not to get too distracted by how pretty he looks when he smiles, and how much you love his laugh. In fact, every time you find yourself thinking about him in that way, you decide to completely ignore your feelings.  
Without you realising it, the time flies, and you have only twenty-four hours until Dave has to leave. You spend your last few hours together holed up in your bedroom, playing video games and watching movies. As you watch one movie, Dave suddenly moves to rest his head on your shoulder. You panic slightly, and he must feel the way that you freeze, because he sits back up and apologises quietly.  
"It's okay," you say, smiling at the way his cheeks flush slightly. In a moment of bravery, you drape one arm around his shoulders, and he slowly leans back against your side again. You glance over at him, and notice his shades slipping down his nose. You tell him that they're falling, and he reaches up to push them further back up his face.  
"What?" He asks as he notices you staring.  
"Why can't I see your eyes?" You ask. You've been wondering it for months.  
"You're right," he sighs, "It's stupid. I know you won't care, I guess I've just learned to think it's something to be embarrassed about." He reaches up then, and gently pulls the shades away, folding the arms up and placing them on the bed by his side. His eyes flutter open, and you gasp as you see his bright red eyes staring at you. He looks away, embarrassed to make eye contact.  
"Hey," you say softly, trying to stop your voice from sounding so squeaky, "They're so pretty." Dave looks over at you, eyes widening slightly, and leans a little closer. You don't know exactly what he's doing, but you take a chance, and lean in too. Then you're both just slightly too close, staring at each other, and you feel him move a hand to rest it on top of yours on the bed. A few seconds pass, feeling like they last forever, and then one of you, you're not even sure who, closes the gap between the two of you. His lips meet yours, and you instantly pull him closer to you, wrapping one arm around his waist and raising the other to his face. When you pull away, you stare at each other for a few seconds more, and then Dave lets out a nervous giggle.  
The both of you fall asleep in your bed that night, tangled together, his head buried in your chest. You stare down at him long after he falls asleep, wondering exactly what you did to deserve such a wonderful person in your life.

Dating when you live in different states is hard, but you and Dave manage it. After a few months, he comes back for another visit, and you get to spend a whole two weeks together as a couple. You introduce him to your friends and family, but mostly the two of you just hang out in your room together. Every night, you fall asleep together, whispering confessions of love into the darkness. It's not perfect, and you know it'll be hard. Dave doesn't seem to have the best home life, though he won't tell you much about it, and living so far apart can make things difficult sometimes, but the two of you make it work. You've never been happier. Your name is John Egbert, and you are in love with Dave Strider.


End file.
